The two remaining candidates for mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, are lining up endorsements and raising cash for the general election in May. And unions are taking center stage in the debate.
KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis spoke with Gene Maddaus of the L.A. Weekly and Seema Mehta from the L.A. Times for this week’s “Friday Mixer.”

MOCA moves. Washington D.C’s National Gallery of Art is the latest institution to make a pitch for a partnership with the L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art. The National Gallery’s proposed five-year deal follows a bid by the L.A. County of Museum of Art to take over the critically acclaimed but financially strapped downtown museum. The talks with the National Gallery were initiated by L.A. …

If you want to be mayor of Los Angeles, you really have to appeal to Hollywood.
Wendy Greuel had a four-year stint at DreamWorks and is married to a film producer, which could help her campaign.
But the truth is, the mayor doesn’t really have the power to do the one big thing entertainment people want – create financial incentives to make it more profitable to …

It’s the end of the week, and it’s time for the Friday mixer. From eight candidates to two: the primary election is over, and the field of candidates for mayor of Los Angeles has narrowed considerably.
Plus, an embarrassingly low voter turnout for the primary election, union endorsements, outgoing mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s future, and a look ahead to the next 11 weeks. All among the …

Who are Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, and why do they want to be mayor of Los Angeles? After a primary election that saw less than 20 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, City Councilman Garcetti and City Controller Greuel cashed in their front-runner status for invitations to the May 21st primary.
Both candidates are liberal Democrats but, beyond that, few Angelenos know much about …

Prop. A fallout. The president of the L.A. City Council says the defeat of Proposition A in this week’s election means more budget pain for city departments. The proposed half-cent sales tax increase was rejected by a margin of 55 to 45 percent. It would have raised more than $200 million annually to bolster city coffers. Council President Herb Wesson warns that “things are …

Mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti will face each other in a runoff election on May 21st, which means that the next few months will see more ads, more flyers and more heated campaigning.
Earlier today, Wendy Greuel got the support of SEIU Local 721. “My promise is not only to the people of LA, but to the labor and the business community as well,” Greuel said. …

Mayor’s race. It’ll be either Eric Garcetti or Wendy Greuel sitting in the mayor’s chair come July. With all precincts reporting, City Councilman Garcetti and City Controller Greuel easily outpaced their opponents to clinch a spot in the May run-off election. Garcetti captured 32.9 percent of the vote to Greuel’s 29.2 percent yesterday. Businessman Kevin James, the sole Republican contender, finished third with 16.4 …

Voters in the city of Los Angeles are going to the polls today to whittle down the field of candidates vying for some of the city’s top elected spots.
But turnout is expected to be super-low. Which means a select few Angelenos will have big reigns over a primary that will choose the city’s next mayor, several city council members, city attorney and controller.
Joining KCRW’s …

Vote. Municipal elections are underway around Southern California this morning, including the high-profile mayor’s race in the city of Los Angeles. None of the eight candidates for mayor of L.A. is expected to win an outright majority. The big spenders, City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel are the favorites to reach a March run-off. But City Councilwoman Jan Perry, businessman Kevin …

This year’s primary campaigns in the City of Los Angeles are setting records for political spending. On the top of the ballot, of course, is the race to succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The five major candidates for Mayor are City Council members Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry; former council member, now City Controller, Wendy Greuel; lawyer and former talk-show hostKevin James and technology executive and former financial advisor Emanuel Pleitez. …

Tomorrow is the primary election for Los Angeles’ mayor and several district races. While the candidates have discussed lots of topics, like pension reform and fixing broken sidewalks, there’s another issue that hasn’t gotten much attention: what should the city look like in the future? You know, that “vision thing.”
A critic’s notebook this weekend by the LA Times’ Christopher Hawthorne looked at several areas …

Election Results:
Updated 7:30 am: With the results of the March 5 primary now tallied, we now know that Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel will face each other in a May run-off election that will determine the next mayor of Los Angeles. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is being termed out of office.
A meager 16 percent of the city’s registered voters showed up at the polls yesterday – …

The next mayor of Los Angeles will get a salary of just over $232,000 a year, an expansive corner office on the third floor of City Hall, and the opportunity to live at Getty House, the official mayoral residence in L.A.’s posh Windsor Square neighborhood. The Tudor-style residence, by the way, comes with seven bathrooms… if you care about that sort of thing.
But what …

Home stretch. On the eve of the L.A. mayor’s race, a new poll finds City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel in a virtual tie for the lead. None of the five major candidates appears to be in a position to capture more than 50 percent of the vote and avoid a run-off. The survey finds that 27 percent of voters favor …

It’s the final days of the L.A. mayoral primary campaign, with the five major candidates vying for the city’s top spot.
An infusion of money in the race, more attacks between the top two candidates, and a new campaign video that digs deep into the core of politics – all among the things discussed in our Friday Mixer.
KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis is joined by Gene Maddaus …

Just below the observation deck on the top of City Hall, there’s a weirdly quiet floor. It’s mostly inhabited by ghosts; stern-looking men staring out from fancy frames over a city they couldn’t possibly have imagined. These are portraits of LA’s past mayors. And no one knows more about them than Tom Sitton, a student of LA’s political past and the former head of …

With the Los Angeles mayoral primary just about a week away, there’s some last-minute campaigning going on.
But one of the issues that’s been largely missing from the campaign – at least hasn’t been talked about a whole lot – is traffic. As in all the Angelenos who get stuck in it way too often.
Kevin Roderick from LA Observed joins KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis, as he …

It’s just over a week away: the March 5 primary election for the Los Angeles mayor’s race. And the gloves are off. The five-leading candidates have come out swinging, with more negative ads, hard-hitting mailers (pictured left and below) and personal attacks.
Will the candidates showing their bare knuckles finally draw some attention to this important race? Will attack ads help voters decide who the …